Display and vending apparatus



' March-26, 9- J. A. M CLANAHAN 7 5 DISPLAY AND VENDING APPARATUS I Fiied A ril 22, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1,

INVENTOR. J6 filldI/Mdl) I ATTORNEY.

March 26, 1929. A. M CLANAHAN 0 6 I I DISPLAY AND VENDING APPQRATUS Filed April 22. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

A TTORNE Y.

Patented Mar. 26, 1929.-

JAMES MccLANAHAN, or NEWBERN, Tennessean.

DISPLAY AND VENDING APPARATUS.

Application filed A use,

This invention. relates to improvements in display and vending machines, and 1 particularly to that class ofvending apparatus in which there 1S a centrally disposed display cabinet which is mounted at the center of the store and which has a plurality of shelves "uponwhich goods may be disposed,

quire a special small cost. My invention is this display cabinet being mounted for slow rotation by means of a motor so that articles of merchandise may be displayed to purchasers in such a manner that purchases may be readily made without the assistance of any. clerk. r

' A further object is to provide a mechanism of this character which does not re.- building to be constructed be mounted, but it may be wherein'it may ,bullding androtatmounted in any store ably supported between ceiling. 1 I

A still further object is to provide a construction of this character having improved details, which make the device simple, effective readily assembled and particularly strong and which device may be run by a low powered motor at relatively panying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of a store equipped with my display and vending apparatus;

Figure 2 is an elevation of the apparatus;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 1';

Figure 4 isa fragmentary horizontal sectional view through the display and vending apparatus.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that in Figure 1, I have shown a store, designated generally A, rectangularin plan and having an entrance opening B. Extending across the store adjacent the entrance end thereof is a counter C which at one end abuts against a revolving gate D. At the oppositeend there is a passageway E. Opposite thls end of. the counter and beyond the passageway is preferably disposeda safe F and an ice box G is disposed between the safe and the front wall of the store. A cash register 1-1 is placed on the counter C adjacent the passageway E, while scales are disposed very close to the cash register. I Theclerk who checks off the sales and receives the cash stands at this counter O. Midway of the the floor and the 1924. Serial No. 708,298.

store there are two'inwardly extending pare titions I. I I

' Disposed in the middle of the store is a revolving display and vending device which includes a mast or revolving post 10. The upper endof this post is reduced at 11 to form a shaft and extends upward through theceiling, and above the ceiling the shaft is supported by a small roller bearing 12 having anti-friction ballsv or rollers. I do not wish to be limited to this manner of supporting the mast, as other anti-friction means might be provided. The lower end of this mast 1O extends downward to a point adjacent the'floor and there carries a circular plate l lwhich confronts the base plate,15,this plate being bolted or otherwise connected to the floor. 1 Both of these plates 14 and 15 are provided with an annular ball race within which the balls 16 are disposed.

Extending radially from the post- 10 are the wood .or metal arms or supports 17 Thereare three of these,.as illustrated, the ends of these supports being connected by vertical tie rods 18. Carried upon these V s 1 supporting arms are-three shelves 19, and illustrated in the accombetweenthese shelves 19 are disposed intermediate shelves 20,

cal partitions 21. Thus the shelves are divided by these partitions into a series of compartments in which the goods to be carried are displayed. These compartments may be closed at the back or closed at the front with doors or may be entirely open from front to rear.

The shelves only extend upward about half the height of the post or mast 10, and extending downward from the top of the post and outward ,to the topmost shelf 19 are truss rods 22 having turnbuckles 23 in their length. These rods act to support the extremities of the arms and are oper atively connected to the extremities of the upper arms 17, or they may be connected directly to the vertical truss rods 18 so as to tie all the shelves together and tie the series of shelves to the top of the post so as to prevent any tendency of the series of shelves to drop. By tightening up or releasing the turnbuckles 23, it is possible to level all of the shelves and thus prevent any tendency of the device to wab ble and at the same time permit. it to rothese.- intermediate 7 shelves being supported by'ineans of. vertitate very easily. The partitions I extend from the-side walls'of the room nearly to the display and vending device itself and sufficiently close so as to prevent any possibility of a customer going around the partitions, that is, between the partitions and the vending device.

The back portion A of the store room is where the supplies are to be kept: and a clerk is employed in this store room to place supplies onthe empty shelf from timeto time when he notices a shelf that is empty. The circular rotatable vending device is slowly rotatedby means of. a'band wheel 24: over which passes a belt 25, which preferably passes around airelatively thickupper shelf 19- which -may have 'flanges thereon and which constitutes .afiband wheel, thus doing away with the necessity of gearing ofspecial mechanism to this end.

The'partitions Iunay have gates-in them wherebyaccess may be had to the rear of the store, these gates'beingwonly openable by thesalesman. It will be seen that with this construction the goodsare not sold by salesmen but are selected and taken down from the shelves by'the customer himself; The. countersmaybe arranged adjacent the revolving delivery device so that thecustomer may place baskets conveniently'on said counters and from timeto tiniereach upto a shelf and select what he desires. The partition gates 'keep customers from going behind the delivery device out ofsight of the cashier so there is no chance to steal goods. The central post atits lower=end tapers from ten inches in diameter at its lower end to eight inches at the top. This puts all the weight on'the'balls and does away with all friction and all noise and lost motion.

The device is very plain and simple, will take very little power because of the fact that the belt25 runs around the entire top row of shelves'and goes directto the -m0torfastenedon the wall of the building nearby,

and does away with all noise. Inasmuch as the central post runs to the ceiling and is supported at top and bottom by ball bearings, -all friction is done away with and at the same time the post is kept balanced without effort. The device may be built A store service apparatus including a room, a rotatably mounted central mastsextendingnpwardfrom the floor of the room to the ceiling thereof, a seriesof annular, vertically disposed shelves disposed one abovethe' other concentric to the mast, radial arms projecting from2t-l1e mast and supportin g the shelves, means whereby the shelves may be-adjusted and supported at all times in horizontal planes, and means for iro- V tating said shelves and the shaft at aprelatively slow speed, "the room F-having partitions extending from the-sides of the room inward toward the shelves aird'tenminating just short of the path 'o'fmovement ofjthe shelves, that port-ion of'the room to one side of the shelves being thus adapted tozbe used as a purchasing area and the portion on'the other side ofsaidpartitions beingadapted to be used as astorageroom.

In testimony whereof I hereuntoafiix, my

signature.

J AMES A. MoGLANAI-IAN. 

